Odd things vanishing.

Agencies and other headaches, keys and cleaners, running costs and contracts...in short, all the things we spend so much of our time doing behind the scenes.<br>
Pamski
Posts: 143
Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2011 1:06 pm
Location: Les Gets

Post by Pamski »

We haven't noticed anything missing this time round after Christmas guests in our chalet, but we have one of those little tub Ikea arm chairs, and I sat on that when we arrived with a mug of coffee. I stood up, and shot across the room with the coffee going everywhere. One of the front legs had broken off.

We had not been told of this, nor our Manager, and the guests had made an effort to repair, very ineffectively, with sticky tape - no longer sticky!

We know the chair was absolutely ok when we left on 23 December. I think a big lumpy teenager probably threw himself into the chair. What has annoyed us is that there was no attempt to let anyone know and that there was a bodged repair. It could have been really dangerous if there had been a small grandchild, or the dog, in the vicinity of the spilt coffee and I could have hurt myself. Also we could have called by an Ikea on the way and bought a replacement. We still have plenty of seating but its really the deceit that has annoyed us.

Ben has taken the chair away to repair and will take it up with the guest. He expects them to be 'hostile' in their response as he had to phone them after they left as the key was missing from the safe. They denied ever having it - but he later found it on a shelf in the chalet.
Hells Bells
Posts: 13173
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:42 am
Location: French Alps
Contact:

Post by Hells Bells »

We do have someone to meet, greet and check out the guests, so it isn't as is we have an impersonal relationship despite being absent owners.
Have found a couple of the screws thrown into the back of drawers this afternoon. I know they can come loose, but we spend longer periods of time here, more than any of our guests, and don't have anything happening.
akwe-xavante
Posts: 306
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2015 3:19 pm
Location: East Yorkshire

Post by akwe-xavante »

No idea really for sure but these are things I do / have done that do appear to have reduced petty thefts and damages significantly, however I did have a full set of towels mysteriously disappear this last year. I phoned the guests who denied any knowledge of where they might be. They then turned up in the post 3 days later from nowhere, washed and ironed!

This is what I have done and do:

Since I left a simple printed list of DVD movies available with the pile of disks I haven't had a single one go missing. It's nothing more than a simple list with a heading that reads "Weekly Checklist". By hand in ink by the side of one of the titles I have written "Missing on <DATE> returned on <DATE> using two different coloured pens.

In the Guest info book I have words that say:

"Sorry but we no longer leave out spare batteries for the various remotes and torches anymore because they were always disappearing! Providing spare and replacing swapped, dead and missing batteries in our first twelve months cost us £93.00! so we've reluctantly decided not to provide spare batteries anymore."

"The first thing we do before cleaning takes place on the day of your departure is check for left belongings (your belongings) and perform rigorous safety checks and check all valuable items, furnishings, fixtures, fittings and appliances for thefts, breakage and damage etc."

"Accidental breakages and damages happen occasionally and it needn't be a problem but attempting to reassemble something that's broken, or hiding something that's chipped or cracked in the back of the kitchen cupboard for example, is dangerous and could inflict serious injury on somebody else so please don't try to disguise or hide it! We always check and find them on your departure!"

"We won't pursue accumulative accidental breakages of less than £10 in value but we will pursue thefts no matter how little the item(s) stolen may be worth."

Batteries are no longer getting swapped or going missing and we haven't had a single broken glass in the back of the cupboard since but guests have replaced several of them.

I now always greet them myself and let them know I'm the owner and the cleaner. I jovially ask them to identify themselves by giving me there 1st line address and postcode before I hand over a key. They always answer the questions with puzzled expressions on their faces but so far nobody has asked or questioned why I do this. I do this to check that they are who they say they are obviously but it also indirectly lets them know I know where they live!!!!!!!!!! Since I started doing this the place is left a lot cleaner in general and nothing has gone missing so far.
Hells Bells
Posts: 13173
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:42 am
Location: French Alps
Contact:

Post by Hells Bells »

We had a DVD disappear one year, only to mysteriously reappear the following one, along with a second one of the same movie.
Now that kind of narrowed it down a bit.
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